Sublime
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On Europe’s Inner Asian frontier, demographic expansion long seemed as hobbled as it was in mainland North America until the 1750s.
John Darwin • After Tamerlane: The Rise and Fall of Global Empires, 1400-2000
might provide material decisive
Martin Gurri • Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium
On the eve of the close encounter with the West, China’s distinctive political trajectory (still dominated by its symbiotic relationship with Inner Asia) propelled it not towards an all-powerful oriental despotism (imagined by Europeans) – which might have permitted drastic change in the face of external challenge – but instead still further toward
... See moreJohn Darwin • After Tamerlane: The Rise and Fall of Global Empires, 1400-2000
The Mongol Empire was not, in fact, the last attempt to create an all-encompassing Muslim land empire across Eurasia. The final remarkable attempt was due to an ethnic Turk, born near Samarkand (modern-day Uzbekistan), who took his inspiration from Genghis Khan. Timur, known to the West as Tamerlane (Timur the Lame) because of injuries he had incur
... See moreJeffrey D. Sachs • The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions
For these empire-builders, the vast grassy steppe that stretched across Eurasia from Manchuria to Hungary was an open road to commercial wealth and almost limitless power. The trading cities of the Near and Middle East were a natural target.